Standard Member

I too am deliberating over the Samsung 46" or the Sagem 45" and am finding it difficult to choose between the two.

I've seen demos of both at Currys & Comets using their HD feed & the usual video they play across all the TVs and I would edge towards the Sagem for better picture quality but who knows if each DLP was set up to achieve the maximum PQ.

The cheapest I have seen a Sagem is £1699 & the cheapest for a Sammy 46" is £1132. The Sagem costs over £500 more. But why? Could someone please explain. Is the Sagem so much better? Are there downsides to the Sammy?

I've read all the recent posts relating to these two and just get more and more confused. Can someone please help!

Member

I have checked the WEB about the differencies between the new Samsung and older one and got some info that i hope is correct.
-Samsung models SP-50L3HX, SP-46L3HX have the HD2+ chip as the Sagem HD-D45 has. SP-50L7HX has the HD3. The latest Samsung versions of model 6 have HD4 which will give a more "filmlike" picture, maybe not better when watching the news and other ordinary sources that the TV will mostly get from the TV-box.

There are different DLP chips out there that have different attributes both positive & negative.

The oldest DLP chip still being sold is the HD2 chip, that usually is rated with a 1000:1 Contrast Ratio. This chip has one mirror for each pixel.

The next chip is the HD3 chip which usually is rated with a 1500:1 Contrast Ratio. This chip has one mirror for evey TWO pixels. It is called a wobulated chip because it turns the chip 45 degrees and the pixels are diamond shaped instead of square. Some think it has a smoother more cinema like look. To me all 720p wobulated chips look softer and more blurry than the NON-wobulated chips.

The next chip is the HD2+ chip (notice the "+" after the 2) I was referring to in my previous post. It is usually rated with a 2500:1 Contrast Ratio. This chip has one mirror for each pixel. This is the best 720p DLP chip IMO. It is sharper, brighter, and better color saturation IMO.

The next chip is the HD4 chip which usually is rated with a 1500:1 OR 2500:1 Contrast Ratio. This chip has one mirror for evey TWO pixels. It is called a wobulated chip because it turns the chip 45 degrees and the pixels are diamond shaped instead of square. Some think it has a smoother more cinema like look. To me all 720p wobulated chips look softer and more blurry than the NON-wobulated chips.

The latest chip is the xHD4 chip which us usually is rated with a 2500:1 OR 5000:1 Contrast Ratio. This chip has one mirror for evey TWO pixels. It is called a wobulated chip because it turns the chip 45 degrees and the pixels are diamond shaped instead of square. Some think it has a smoother more cinema like look AND SHARPER because it is a 1920 x 1080p resolution. I have not seen these chips yet since they have been available for less than a month. The 1080p HDTVs usually cost about $1,000.00 more, and no 1080p signals are broadcast now, and will not be for some time due to bandwidth requirements, so the TV upscales a 1080i signal to 1080p internally.

Unfortunately, the RCA DLPs no longer have the HD2+ chip in them so I do not recommend them any more.

Is the latest HD4 model better or just costcut versions to be able to produce cheaper TV and maximum profit? - Maybe the older are better?

This is the theoretical part, let's go to the practical that we have to meet when watching a movie or just the nine o' clock news....
I can't compare these due to the latest versions are not released were I live.

Finally: I hope that there are a lot of people out there reading this thread that have seen both models of Samsung, the "old" SP-50L3HX, SP-46L3HX and the latter ones SP-50L6HX, SP-46L6HX with the newer chip HD4. -Practical differences..?

Well-known Member

I have checked the WEB about the differencies between the new Samsung and older one and got some info that i hope is correct.
-Samsung models SP-50L3HX, SP-46L3HX have the HD2+ chip as the Sagem HD-D45 has. SP-50L7HX has the HD3. The latest Samsung versions of model 6 have HD4 which will give a more "filmlike" picture, maybe not better when watching the news and other ordinary sources that the TV will mostly get from the TV-box.

Click to expand...

Close but no cigar. The SP50L3HX uses the HD2 DMD which was quicly replaced by the SP50L7HX using HD2+, in fact I'm pretty sure you can't get hold of the 50L3 any more. the SP46L3HX utilises the HD3 chip which again has now been superseded by the L6 series using the newer HD4 DMD.